The Walk of Shame…

This was the weekend of bad runs.  I don’t want to dwell on it so much, just report it and move on.

On Saturday I needed to log 2 miles.  2 miles is nothing.  Well, it’s nothing unless your shins scream in pain for the entire run.  My goal was to beat my earlier pace, 9’42”.  I ended with a pace of 10’31”.  I lost almost an entire minute off my pace.  Deplorable!

On Sunday, the day’s planned run was 12 miles.  If I was feeling up to it, I intended to push for an extra 1.1 miles.   That’s right, I was going for a half marathon distance.  I have only done that once before.  It was time for a repeat.  My legs were feeling better, and I was ready.  Little did I know that fate had other plans.

I run with a Nike Running Hydration Belt, or rather I used to.  It has four bottles and each holds four ounces.  I hadn’t used them since last fall, and when I went to run on Sunday, I could only locate three bottles and only one lid.  What does that mean?  I could only carry four ounces of Gatorade.  That should have been enough right?  Wrong, so wrong.

When I left, 11 AM, the temperature outside was 65⁰.  By the 12:30 it was 88⁰.  By the end, the sun was burning my face.  I was through those four ounces of Gatorade in no time.  Around mile seven I could feel my legs shutting down.  Over and over I kept saying to myself, “just a little further.”  At mile eight my mind screamed back “LIAR!!!!”  My pace dropped from the mid 11s to 13s.  I soon realized I could walk faster.  With no pride, I ended the run.  The final results were 8.9 miles at pace of 11’47”.

That isn’t the worse part.  I now had to walk home.  It felt like a walk of shame.  This has been the second time I have not succeeded in my running goal for distance.  In fact, I normally feel like I can do more.  At first I questioned where my strength went.  After a mile or so I started wondering if I could ever do a full marathon.  Even with a couple short cuts, it was still a three-mile walk home.  I knew I made the right decision since I stumbled several times on the road home.  If I had more liquids I could easily have done the run.  I also should definitely have worn my hat.  So many “ifs” and so little time.   After several mental debates, I decided that I can do the distance.

Question:

What do you do for hydration on your long runs?

I have been using the Nike Hydration Belt with G2 Gatorade.

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The Half Marathon Distance is Done!

Distance: 13.11 Miles
Pace: 10’08″

And so it is done.  I completed over 13.1 miles.  It is an amazing feeling.  This has been the longest run of my running career.  The best part was not just completing  the run, it was when I looked down at the watch and noticed the pace and time.  I thought my run was going to come in around 145 minutes, and I came in under 133 minutes.

Going into the run, I was worried if I could complete it.  It had been 2 weeks since the last time I did over ten miles, let alone thirteen.  These past two weeks I have questioned the training.  My weight was not going down since I wasn’t burning the extra calories.  Now my pace kept improving; that was it.  My first couple steps were shaky.  My waist has trimmed so much, the hydration belt is slightly too big.  It bounced on my hips a little too much.  One of the bottles bounced out three times in the first half mile.  It happened twice more during the first half of the run and one just before the last mile and half stretch.  I was worried my pace would suffer and every time I stopped I feared I might not be able to pick the run back up.  Of course that didn’t happen.  I finished well in spite of the mishaps and the reduction of mileage leading into the run.  Trust your training schedule.

So where are we now?  A twelve week training session is over.  Do I train for a 5k, 10k, half, or bump it up to a full marathon?  After putting some thought to it, I have decided to retrain for the half again.  This time, however, I am increasing the difficulty.  After reviewing the plan of action, I can definitely say that it is tougher.  There are more runs per week, and longer runs.  There is even a fourteen miler in there.  Tonight I should have the next twelve weeks plotted out with P90X incorporated.  I hope I am not taking on more than what is possible.  Of course I won’t know if I don’t try.  I have already stopped by the store picked up my resistance bands and yoga block.  Me, with a yoga block!

So here we go, time to step it up and push beyond what I thought was possible.

Next Run: 5 Miles
Next Race: Burlington Race for the Hungry 5K